Falling Inside the Black
by TheSpaceWolf
Summary: Post Midseason 2 finale. AU. No one is left unscathed in the aftermath of the temple collapse. Trip is dead and Skye is far from okay. Coulson is doing everything in his power to keep his team together and capture Raina before the body count escalates; all the while, dealing with Skye's psychopathic father, a misguided Ward, and another possible traitor(s) in their midst.
1. Change is Terrifying

Falling Inside the Black

Coulson stirred to a pounding head and a sore everything. He could feel something pinning his left leg, and he was afraid to move anything else. It was dark and the floor was damp; he could feel the moisture seeping into his shoulders where the Kevlar ended. He took a mental note of his body and thankfully the only thing he couldn't quite move was the pinned ankle. It was a wonder he hadn't been impaled or crushed by fallen rock. He sincerely hoped it wasn't broken, it would make the trip out of here a hell of a lot more difficult. With a grunt and heave, he lifted himself to a sitting position and tried his best to get a bearing on his surroundings despite the limited vision. Reaching forward, he let his hand skim over his leg until he found the large rock pinning it down.

Once he assessed that there was little pain, he put his other foot on the end of the rock and proceeded to shove it off of him. The process was slow and painful but he eventually got it off his foot and immediately felt the delayed agony. It wasn't broken, he'd had enough of those to know what it felt like but it was definitely sprained or badly bruised.

He gingerly got to his feet and searched the almost pitch black around him until he spotted the glow stick a few feet away from him. With an obvious limp, he shuffled over to it and picked it up. Just when his hand touched it, fingers snagged his wrist. He automatically went for the gun at his side but stopped when he saw who they belonged to.

Mack was leaning against one of the walls, banged up and slightly out of it but seemingly okay. He was staring at Coulson with black, dimmed frightened eyes and Coulson's fingers loosened from around the gun. Without saying anything, the older agent offered his hand and after a second of hesitation Mack took it. He hoisted the big guy to his feet, letting his eyes skim over him.

"Are you alright?" Coulson asked and Mack rubbed the back of his head, wincing.

"Yeah, knocked my head pretty good against the wall but I'll live. Was that an earthquake?" The engineer wondered, looking at the rock above their heads.

Coulson followed his gaze, his eyes squinting in the dark. "Sure felt like it." He turned, seemingly jolted by a thought and shook the light stick when it began to fade. "Whatever it was collapsed the walls around Skye and Raina. We need to get them out. Who knows how much longer the tunnels will remain stable."

Mack hesitated but followed his team leader. "Sir, shouldn't we try to contact the rest of the team and let them know what happened?" He looked at the ton of rocks blocking their path. "And possibly get a couple more hands helping move the rubble?"

The team leader did not look away from the mountain of rock, his eye brows drawing together. He clenched his jaw, trying not to think about the fact that Skye was most likely crushed underneath all that. He did his best to hold it together, knowing he'd have another major freak out later.

"Good idea, go find May. She'll want to know our status." Mack turned to leave but paused only a second later. "Uh Coulson, which way do I go?" The older agent's lips twitched. "It's two rights, three lefts and then one more right. The rope should still be down."

Not wasting anytime, Mack left and Coulson began pulling away the rocks that he could lift without any help. In a couple minutes his forehead was glistening with sweat and every part of his body was burning hot with pain and exhaustion. His ankle was distracting but he knew that there was no time to stop or slow down. He had to find Skye and now.

"Skye! Skye can you hear me!" he shouted but quietly swore when silence answered him.

He only stopped when he was breathing heavily and the agony was almost overwhelming. Just when he was about to sink to his knees, hands grasped his arms, squeezing tightly. They held him up but prevented him from reaching for another rock.

"Coulson, you're hurt." Came May's concerned voice from behind him but his mind was consumed with only one thing.

"No, I can't stop. I have to keep going. I have to find Skye." He tried pulling away from her but May was unyielding. His fingers fumbled with another rock before she laid a hand over his, staying his movements.

"I know you want to find her, Phil. We all do but she was buried beneath a ton of rubble. The odds of her surviving that…" She trailed off unable to finish and surprisingly overcome with emotion, the devastated look on his face not helping her steady herself mentally.

He shook his head. "I know the odds, but Skye's strong, she's made it through worse. Her father wouldn't say she was special for nothing. He wasn't sending her to her death. She has to be here. Now help me find her."

May frowned deeply but slowly loosened her hold on his arms, turning to look at Mack. "You heard him, let's get this rock moving." The mechanic looked skeptical but bent over and began helping move the obstacles out of the way.

They paused as the sound of hurried footsteps came rushing down the corridor toward the trio. May pulled her weapon and Coulson stopped sifting through the rubble, turning to see who it was while Mack picked up a nice sized rock for defense. They only dropped their guard when Fitz and Simmons came rushing into view under the glow sticks.

Simmons looked terrified, her eyes flicking frantically over all of them before they landed on the fallen rock. Her hand went to her mouth and her eyes watered as a sob caught in her throat. Fitz put a hand on his chest and bent over slightly to catch his breath after the sprint.

"Where's Trip?" she asked, aiming the question at Coulson who looked confused.

"I thought he was with you."

Simmons gripped Fitz' arm, her expression worried. "When he heard you and Skye went down after Raina, he went to shut off the bombs and never came back. We waited, but after the earthquake hit, we wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Have you seen Trip?" There was so much hope in her bright eyes as she stared at Coulson.

He shared a look with May before locking eyes with Simmons. "We haven't seen anyone since before the earthquake, but we're trying to find Skye and capture Raina. Take Mack with you and search the other tunnels for Trip. He may just be unconscious or trapped by debris."

The young scientist seemed relieved to be given a productive job, nodding and heading for one of the tunnels, Fitz and Mack following after her. May put her gun back in her holster and glanced over at her friend. "Do you think it was a good idea to split up the team after what just happened?" she asked.

He sighed, still looking off after where the three disappeared. "Probably not but we don't need to waste any more time. Skye and Trip need to be found and Raina needs to be subdued. The quicker we do that, the quicker we can get out of this forsaken place and to safety. I'm not sure how stable the structures are, especially with the earthquakes."

May did not answer verbally, going back to work instead and Coulson joined her. After almost thirty minutes of digging out a path to find the room, they finally saw the podium in the center and guessed that was where it had all went down. Coulson rushed inside, his eyes scanning the other walls that were still intact and pausing on the broken shards of what used to be the Obelisk.

There was nothing to be found, most importantly no Skye or Raina. He tried to tell himself that no body meant she must be still alive and that was at least a little bit comforting. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering once again how the hell it had all come to this.

"Phil, you need to see this," May said, crouching over something against the far wall that he couldn't quite see from his position. He went to her side, bending over her shoulder to look at whatever had her captivated.

He took one look and knew why her face was so grim. "Trip," he whispered, not believing what he was seeing in front of him. The crumbled remains of his agent was at their feet and he had no idea what to do or feel.

"The obelisk must have disintegrated him after he tried to destroy it. You don't think that happened to Skye, do you?" he asked and even though his expression was virtually blank, the slight breaking of his voice on her name, told May exactly how he was really feeling.

May didn't know how to give him a truthful answer that she too would believe so instead she settled for a gentle hand on his forearm. She waited in silence, letting the news settle in the pit of her stomach, not wanting to completely digest that information quite yet, not when they still had to find Skye.

Coulson was still staring at his agent's remains, a look of horror frozen on his face. "We should tell Simmons that we found Trip," he said dully, the words sticking slightly in his throat.

At his quiet statement, it occurred to May that Phil was reaching the end of his rope. They'd just lost an agent and friend and she could clearly see that it was tearing him up inside. She didn't want to know what would happen if they lost Skye too. The last thing she wanted was for this to be Phil's Bahrain. She didn't even want to contemplate what this would do to her if something horrible happened to Skye. May had seen enough blood and death to last a lifetime.

He stood up from his crouched position and turned, heading for the exit path that they'd come in through. May had no other choice but to follow him out, her eyes narrowed as she watched him stare out at the tunnels with an unreadable look on his face. "I'll tell them the news," she offered, but the words barely left her mouth before he cut her off.

"No, they need to hear it from me. I gave the order for this mission. If it weren't for me none of them would have even been near this place." He said it so nonchalantly, like he totally wasn't having his own guilt fest over the fact that it was his decision to go on this mission.

May cocked her head, frowning. "This isn't your fault, Phil. You may have given the order that brought them here but it was their choice on whether or not to follow that order. Every one of them knew exactly what they were getting into when they signed on for this job. You didn't order Trip to come back down and disconnect the bombs. He did that all on his own, probably knowing full well he wouldn't make it back. Yeah, it was brave and completely stupid to try and destroy the Obelisk but if any of us had been in his shoes we would have done the exact same thing to save someone else."

His head whipped around, his blue eyes locking on her own and blazing with a fire that she had not seen in a long time. "If I'd protected Skye like I was supposed to than Trip wouldn't have had to do my job for me and die because of it. If anyone should have died trying to save Skye than it should have been me. I was supposed to protect her from this, protect her from her father and the crazy plans he had for her and I didn't. I failed her and now Trip is dead and Skye might be too."

Her nerves were starting to fray. "Skye's a grown woman and a trained agent who can take care of herself. I understand the need to watch out for her but you were the one who assured me that she could handle whatever was thrown at her. You can't blame yourself for not protecting her from every little thing. Don't waste your time playing the 'what if' game. Nothing good will come of it, Phil. Believe me, I would know."

He looked as if he wanted to finish that conversation but multiple footsteps coming toward them had him turning and raising the glow stick toward the sound. Mack appeared closely followed by Simmons and Fitz. They were all sweaty, tired, and about ready to collapse.

Mack was the first to speak, since Jemma looked on the verge of tears. "Coulson, we searched every tunnel and found no sign of Trip."

"But…we did find this…" Fitz spoke up, holding out the old clock timer that would have been used to set off the bombs. Simmons' eyes were boring into Coulson who seemed hesitant on meeting her gaze straight on.

"It's an uh…" Fitz eyebrows drew together, as he twisted the device in his hand.

Mack glanced at him. "A handheld vintage bomb detonator?"

The engineer snapped his fingers and nodded, his blue eyes flickering over to the big guy beside him before looking at Coulson. "That's what I was about to say," he mumbled lamely.

Coulson finally made himself make eye contact with Simmons, whose face crumpled immediately at the stormy glint in his eyes. "Jemma," he began softly, trying to keep his voice as calm and gentle as possible but she cut across him.

"You don't have to say it. He didn't…make it did he, Agent Coulson?" she asked, her words ringing soundly against the walls surrounding them as she clung onto Fitz for dear life.

The lead agent gave a small shake of his head. "No, he didn't. We believe that he…gave his life trying to save Skye." He didn't know what made him add that last part but he felt like she needed to know that his sacrifice wasn't in vein.

Jemma dissolved into sobs, while Fitz' face paled as he stared at Coulson with wide terrified blue eyes. "Where is Skye?" he asked, for once knowing exactly what he wanted to say.

May was quicker than Coulson. "We didn't find Skye or Raina among the collapsed rock."

"What-what does that mean exactly?" Fitz wondered, his eyes flicking between the other two agents standing across from him. Jemma's crying started to subside as she listened partially to the continued conversation.

"It means we should get out of here before another earthquake hits and kills us all," Mack answered, glancing toward the exit. Phil frowned, May's lips thinned at his suggestion and Simmons turned to look at Mack with wide watery eyes.

"If you're suggesting we cut our losses…" May trailed off, dark eyes glaring at the big guy.

"We already lost Trip. We can't leave Skye for dead!" Simmons protested and Fitz glanced at the mechanic that had slowly become his friend in the recent months, not believing what he was hearing.

"He's right," Coulson said and everyone turned to stare at him in shock.

May narrowed her eyes. "Coulson…"

He silenced her with a look. "Safety should be our first priority. We've lost enough agents. Mack, you and FitzSimmons head back up top where it's safe. May and I will do one more sweep of the tunnels and then join you."

"Sir, we should stay with you and help you look," Simmons insisted while Mack was already turning to leave and motioning for Fitz to follow.

Phil shook his head. "No, you'll be safer up there. Don't make me order you to go." It was the closest she'd ever heard him come to desperation and doubled with the pained glint in his eye, Jemma knew she couldn't deny him.

She bit her lip to hold the tears back. "Please find her, Agent Coulson." She turned to go, letting Fitz fall into step beside her, even though his eyes were still on their team leaders. Mack put a hand on the engineer's shoulder and he finally turned away too.

Coulson watched them leave before heading for the tunnel opposite of the one the trio just exited; not glancing back to see if May was following. He flashed his glow stick into every corner and crevice as he passed, his only words were shouts of Skye's name every few minutes.

May didn't know how to make it better but she knew she had to try. "I can't help you, Phil, if you don't tell me what you are thinking. Are you seriously expecting to find Skye hiding in one of the corners?" She wasn't trying to provoke him but she could tell when he was starting to grasp at straws. She more than knew he'd run out of fresh ideas a while ago and was now running on pure fumes.

He met her gaze sharply, his jaw clenched. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I just know that I have to find Skye. And I don't have the first clue as to where she could possibly be or why she wouldn't still be in that temple. But if Raina, Ward or God forbid her father has her in their clutches than I'm going to get her back." There was desperation in his tone where any other time she would have expected anger.

"I know we'll get her back, Phil. I don't doubt that. I just don't think that rescue is going to happen in the dark." The second the words left her mouth, his piercing stare was on her. "We're all exhausted. None of us are going to do Skye any good in this condition. We should rest, regroup and continue our search at morning light. Besides…I think it's pretty clear that she's not down here." She elaborated quickly before he exploded at her.

He narrowed his eyes. "You don't think she left against her will," he guessed, suddenly thinking really hard about the turn of events and May's advice.

May shook her head. "No, I don't. If she really went through a transformation like her father said than she's afraid. She's afraid she might hurt someone. And what do people do when they're afraid?"

Understanding dawned over his face. "They run."

She perched her hands on her hips. "My best guess is she's somewhere outside of the city, far away from people. She doesn't have a way out of Puerto Rico and won't find one in the next day. If I were her, I would be looking for a place to stay for the night, so I could rest and plan my next step."

"Do we have a way to track her down? Otherwise we're going to have a lot of ground to cover." They started walking down the tunnel again, searching as they brainstormed ideas.

"If we still have Fitz' golden retrievers, they might be able to narrow down the search area and if one of the team takes the quinjet up they'll be able to cover ground faster."

Coulson nodded. "Good thinking, we'll start first thing tomorrow." He turned, heading for the exit that they'd sent the others through.

May had something else on her mind. "Phil?" she said and he glanced at her. "If worse comes to worse and Skye refuses to come willingly, what are you prepared to do?"

His back stiffened, but his facial expression did not change other than a slight twitch in his jaw. "I'll do what needs to be done, but I'm confident we can convince her she's better off with us."

She recognized a dodged question when she saw one but didn't call him on it, even though he knew she was on to him. Instead, she pursed her lips and simply nodded. May didn't want to think about the possibility that Skye could be dangerous or that she would ever hurt anyone, but only God knows what that Obelisk did to her. She might not even be the Skye they remember. She prayed it wouldn't come to drastic measures; May wasn't sure Phil could handle that.


	2. Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, plots, or settings. Everything belongs to Marvel.

Chapter 2

Skye ran without a particular destination, sprinting through the forest away from the city and away from most of the population. The ground was shaking violently beneath her, but she somehow managed to stay on her feet. Tears were running down her cheeks and she was doing everything she could to hold it together. She came across an overhanging of rock and all but collapsed underneath it.

The earth trembled again as her hands fisted in the dirt. Her emotions were fluctuating sporadically and she couldn't seem to get her mind to focus. All she could see in her mind's eye was Trip crumbling to rubble right in front of her while she stood frozen, unable to do anything about it. A choked sob caught in her throat and she turned over, throwing up what little food was in her stomach. Her chest constricted, her breath coming in quick, short gasps as her head began to pound. She knew she was having a panic attack and didn't realize that with each gasp, the ground shook harder. She felt like she was dying.

Skye thought hard about May's breathing techniques and mind mediations, forcing her body to cooperate with her. She didn't know how long it took, but she finally came out of the panic attack and felt the earthquake beginning to subside. It took her a moment to realize that her wrist watch hadn't beeped once since before she'd went into the temple. She glanced down to see the thing had busted. There wasn't so much as a flicker on the tiny screen. She huffed, feeling irrationally irritated. That thing had cost like two-hundred bucks.

Struck with a sudden realization like a punch to the gut, she raised her hand toward the nearby bed of rock and thought really hard about wanting to move them. When nothing happened, Skye wondered if she really had gone insane. She'd just tried to move something with her mind. Knowing she had nowhere to go, she leaned back against the cave wall and brought her knees to her chest. Logically, she knew it wasn't wise to go anywhere until she figured out what the hell happened to her in that temple. Her father and Raina had promised a transformation, and the fact that she really didn't necessarily feel or look any different only worried her more.

When she thought about the random earthquakes, she was oddly reminded of something she'd read as a kid about the Greek god Poseidon. Supposedly, he had the ability to cause earthquakes. Of course, it sounded stupid to believe it was her causing the tremors. Sure, she'd seen some crazy things while with S.H.I.E.L.D, but never anything quite like this.

Skye suddenly irrationally wished that Coulson's silent presence was here to calm her down. She always could count on him to keep his head on straight during a stressful situation, and this was definitely stressful. Thinking of him sent a jolt of guilt and shame spiraling through her. She hated herself for running from them, but in the heat of the moment there'd been no other choice. Her first and only priority was to protect the closest thing to family she had.

It pained her to consider that they might never forgive her. She'd ran to keep them safe, but she wasn't exactly sure that they would see that way. If not for her, Trip might be still alive. She didn't think she'd be able to ever look Jemma in the eye again.

The sun was going to rise in a few short hours so she decided some rest was in order. Keeping one hand near her gun, Skye put her head back against the stone and closed her eyes. She dozed for a long time, unable to sleep because of her overactive brain. Finally, her body gave into exhaustion, and she slowly drifted off. Almost two hours into her sleep, she began to twitch and mumble as sweat gathered on her forehead, but she did not wake.

Her body started jerking and the moaning got louder. The ground rumbled along with her and trembled harder with each louder outburst from her. She finally snapped awake to the sound of a large crack above her head. Skye glanced up in time to see a good sized boulder coming right for her. Not having time to move, she plastered herself to the wall, shut her eyes and prayed she wouldn't be crushed.

As if by magic the boulder splintered into a billion pieces, which turned to dust just as they reached the top of her head. She cracked one eye open and breathed a sigh of relief to see herself not flattened like a pancake. Whatever the hell she just did to that rock saved her life. What she wouldn't give to talk to Simmons about this freaky new power. She could just see the number of blood samples the scientist would want to take. She almost grinned until she remembered what happened to Trip and how it would destroy her best friend.

The thought stole her breath away and tears gathered in her eyes once again. How could Jemma ever forgive her for getting Trip killed? Skye would live with it for the rest of her life.

She suddenly felt the need for a cup of hot chocolate and an AC hug. Although, after everything she'd been putting Coulson through the last thing he would probably want is a hug from her. She was honestly more worried about disappointing him than angering him. He would most likely see her escape as a violation of their sacred trust between them. Skye had seen Coulson and May's once strained relationship to know that he did not handle betrayal very well at all. It twisted her heart to think he might never look at her the same way ever again. Unable to think about it any longer without sobbing, she decided to put her mind on waiting for the sun to rise. She was going to move at first light.

…

Just as the sun began peaking over the horizon, Skye headed back toward San Juan. As she neared the edge of the city she passed several downed trees and wondered how much damage the earthquake did. It made her sick to think it was possible that she could have caused all of it. When she entered the city, she saw the complete devastation.

The streets of San Juan were packed with frantic people trying to get to their destinations; checking on family and friends, making sure their houses and cars were still in one piece. Light poles were down, a few cars were turned over, and even part of the road had caved inward. Police were doing their best to reroute traffic and direct people to safety while firemen were working on getting people out of the earthquake made hole. The glass was shattered and gone out of every store window that she could see.

Skye couldn't handle what she was seeing, knowing somehow deep down that she'd caused all of this destruction. Her breathing shortened and to avoid prying eyes she went down the nearest side alley and leaned against the closest wall. Her vision tunneled and her chest began to hurt from the erratic breathing.

"Oh God, what have I done?" she moaned, her fists in her hair as tears streamed down her face.

She thought she could handle this on her own without putting the team in danger, but seeing what she'd done to these innocent people; she would need the team to make sure she wouldn't hurt anyone else, no matter the measure that had to be taken.

She practiced even breathing and her meditation so she wouldn't cause another tremor. The ground rumbled and shook and Skye shut her eyes tightly, focusing all her strength on stopping it. She had to steady herself on the wall to keep from falling over but after a few tense minutes the shaking simmered down. She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm, finally letting her eyes flutter open.

Skye needed to get back to the team, but had no way of knowing exactly where they'd be. The only thing she knew to do was go back to the building surrounding one of the many temple entrances, and hope they hadn't gotten too far away.

It took her a little while to find her way back to the building, and right before she entered, she pulled her gun from its holster raising it slightly in front of her. She wanted to call out for May or Coulson, but was afraid she might draw the attention of any remaining Hydra agents. After clearing several rooms and finding nothing but dead bodies, she decided what the hell; she might as well shout and see if anyone was here.

"Coulson! May!" Skye yelled as loud as she dared and frowned when only silence answered her.

She should have never ran from them because now she had no way of getting back to her team. Just when she was about to break down and sink to the floor, she heard distant footsteps approaching the room she was standing inside. She pointed her weapon at the doorway and cocked the hammer back. She kept her finger on the trigger, waiting expectantly as the person edged around the corner and through the doorway gun first. Without any hesitance, she squeezed the trigger, firing at the other gun and knocking it right out of the guy's hand.

She heard a curse and couldn't stop the small smirk that flashed across her face. "Enter the room slowly with your hands raised or the next bullet will be imbedded in your chest," she instructed, her voice coming out harsh and unyielding.

The guy entered with his hands raised and Skye dropped her gun when she recognized who it was. Hunter looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. His expression morphed into indignation. "Skye, not that I'm not happy to see you but…what the hell! I thought you were bloody Hydra after you shot me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Shot at you, Hunter. I didn't actually hit you."

He crossed his arms and scoffed. "Yeah, but you bloody well about took my hand off."

She wasn't sure why exactly they were bickering at a time like this, but the distraction was more than welcome. There was no real bite to his tone; he actually seemed pretty glad to see her. She gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I sort of thought you were Hydra too. What are you doing here? Where's the rest of the team?"

Hunter bent over and picked up his gun off the floor, putting it back in the holster and Skye did the same. "Bobbi and I were ordered to stay behind in case you showed up. Looks like May's hunch was spot on. Coulson and May are up in the quinjet searching the area for you and the rest of the team is back on the Bus. Fitz had some gadget he thought might help."

He pushed a button on the walkie-talkie she just now noticed was at his hip. "Bob, I found Skye. Meet us at the front doors, we need to contact Coulson ASAP." A second later, Agent Morse's voice came over the static.

"On my way now. Is Skye alright?" Hunter glanced at her and she gave a hesitant nod.

"Seems to be, you can judge for yourself in a minute." He let go of the button. "It's a bloody good thing I found you. You being MIA for the past day has really had everyone on edge, especially the boss man. Any particular reason you ran?"

Skye wasn't quite able to hold his gaze then. She wasn't all that sure she could give a quantifiable answer. There really wasn't a good way to explain it. She decided he deserved the truth. "Something happened down there in that temple and I can't explain it but I haven't been the same since. It's freakishly weird."

He pursed his lips and she could tell he was trying to make sense of her cryptic explanation. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing SHIELD specializes in the freakishly weird." Hunter inclined his head. "Come on, let's get out of here."

She followed him out of the room, not needing to be told twice. Bobbi was already waiting for them by the front doors when they got there. She looked at Skye with narrowed elevator eyes before giving her a nod. "Good to see you're alright, Skye."

Skye smiled softly, not knowing exactly how to respond to that. She'd been expecting some anger from at least a few of the team members after they'd spent all that time looking for her. "Thank you, guys," she said, her gaze shifting between the pair.

Hunter shrugged. "Eh, you know Coulson's policy about leaving no agent behind. I really didn't have much of a choice. He told us we could help him look for you or leave."

Bobbi rolled her eyes at her ex before looking at Skye. "What he's trying to say is that we stayed to help because we wanted to. He likes to pretend because he's a merc, that he has no sense of honor."

He glared at her and Skye had to bite her lip to keep from laughing aloud. Standing there with them, it was almost easy to act like nothing bad had happened; like Trip wasn't dead, like she hadn't been transformed into some sort of monster. Bobbi saw her mood swing and her facial expression sober.

"We should go. We're rendezvousing at the Bus in an hour. As soon as we get a signal, I'll contact Coulson," the blonde agent offered as a way of distraction and Skye was grateful.

Hunter and Bobbi walked on either side of her as they headed in the direction of the Bus. When they got a ways from the building, Agent Morse pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. "Coulson," she greeted as they continued toward the edge of the city. "We found Skye." She paused, listening to his response.

"She's okay…yes, sir. We'll see you then." She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pants' pocket. "Coulson and May are going to meet us at the Bus."

Skye wondered if Coulson was angry with her, but didn't want to ask how he sounded on the phone. She wouldn't blame him if he did put her in the doghouse for what she did. She never should have went down into the temple against his orders. She'd been trying to make things right, but ended up only making it worse instead. She'd been stubborn and foolish, trying her hardest to prove that she had what it took to be an agent; one of the best. She'd wanted to prove her father wrong and make Coulson proud of her so bad. It was the worst kind of fate that her plan had back fired.

They walked down on a road that hadn't been destroyed and took it all the way to the edge of the city. Skye breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the giant plane finally came into view yards in front of them after the decently long trek. The back hatch was open already and waiting for them to board. Before her first foot even made it on the ramp, Simmons was racing toward her at break neck speed. The small scientist threw her arms around her neck and held on almost chokingly tight.

"Oh Skye, I'm so glad you're okay," Jemma said into her shoulder, heavy tears in her voice. She pulled away suddenly to get a good look at the hacker. "You had us all worried sick! Where on earth have you been?" she demanded, her tone rising in pitch.

Skye squeezed the arm she was holding onto and frowned. "It's sort of a long story, but I'm here now and I'm fine. I shouldn't have run." Shadows flashed in her eyes and she tightened her grip around the biochemist. "Jemma, I'm so sorry about Trip. I never meant for him to…" She couldn't even bring herself to say it.

Simmons swallowed thickly, wiping a stray tear as it escaped down her cheek. "It's not your fault, Skye. T-trip went down there of his own free will. He…wouldn't have wanted to go any other way than while trying to save a friend. Saving people was in his nature. None of us could have stopped him." Skye pulled her back into a hug again.

When they finally pulled away, Fitz was standing a few feet behind Simmons, looking a little unsure of himself, but like he wanted to say something too. Skye gave him an easy smile and pulled him into a hug too, ignoring his small grunt of surprise. After a second, she felt his arms come around her and hold her back. "Skye," he said, and that was all he needed to say. She could feel his relief as his hands tightened on her shoulders.

"Good to see you too, Fitz," she answered back, warmth in her voice as they let go of each other. Looking over Fitz' shoulder she made eye contact with Mack who gave her a firm nod.

The sound of the quinjet landing interrupted their reunion and Skye felt her stomach drop to her feet. She was suddenly extremely nervous at the prospect of seeing Coulson and May. She sort of felt like the rebellious daughter coming home after she'd run away. Simmons and Fitz took places on either side of her as they waited for their fearless leaders. She was sure she would have sprinted and thrown herself into Coulson's arms, but she found her body rooted to the spot.

Skye tried to decipher their facial expressions as they made their way toward the ramp where she was standing, but she was having no such luck. Nothing was said as they came to a stop in front of her and she didn't know if that was good or bad. She found her reluctant gaze settling on Coulson who was staring at her with unreadable blue eyes.

She bowed her head and slumped her shoulders, waiting for whatever scolding or punishment that would come. She startled slightly at the feeling of his hand on her arm and glanced back up at him once more. He cocked his head, looking deep into her eyes, and she wondered briefly what he saw there.

"Skye…" he said softly, and she wasn't sure if he was greeting her, admonishing her, or just saying her name to say it. From the look on his face, she thought, maybe it was all of the above.

Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. With a rush of courage, she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck and holding on with everything she had. He was quick to wrap his arms around her just as tightly, one of his hands automatically going to the back of her head. She couldn't hold in the tears that leaked out as she clung to him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, AC," she chanted into his skin and she felt his fingers tighten on her neck as the other hand rubbed soothingly up her back.

"It's okay…" he assured quietly, and his breath wisped over her hair with the words.

For the first time in almost forty-eight hours, May saw the tension slowly seep out of them as they both reunited with the person they needed to see the most. Everyone ignored Hunter and Mack's looks of shock at the open display of affection. If they had never noticed how close Coulson and Skye were, then they really weren't paying much attention. Anyone with half a brain could see that they were tight.

When she finally pulled slowly away from him, the hand on the back of her neck moved to rest on her cheek, reminding her of the last time she'd seen him. His blue eyes narrowed as he looked her over; his gaze settling on her face after he came to the internal conclusion that no physical wounds seemed to be present.

"Are you alright?" he asked, eyes boring into her own, looking for any hint of pain or unseen hurt that he needed to fix. She didn't have the heart to tell him there were some things that he just couldn't fix.

"Yeah, but the temple really did a number on Raina and me. I'm not sure I can explain it, but something happened down there…It changed me…" She glanced away, ashamed that she couldn't even talk without her voice breaking terribly. His fingers twitched on her cheek, but he did not pull away like she thought he would.

"Skye, you've been through one hell of an ordeal. We don't have to go over all the details right this second. First thing is getting Simmons to check you out." At her opening mouth to protest, he raised an eyebrow that dared her to speak up. "Second is getting some food in you. When was the last time you ate?" The hand on her cheek drifted down to her shoulder but stayed there, almost as if he needed the contact as much as she did.

She shrugged and he pressed his lips together firmly, getting ready to push it. "Skye that's not an answer," he prodded, but his voice was gentle, worried even. Feeling like she had an audience was not helping things, and May must have sensed her discomfort because she quietly ushered the others further onto the plane until it was just her and Coulson standing on the ramp. Neither noticed Bobbi offer to move the quinjet and May nod her consent or Bobbi walking past them.

"Honestly? I can't remember the last time I ate. Meeting your biological psychopathic father can really take away one's appetite." He winced and she couldn't tell if it was from her words or the verbal reminder that her murderous father was still on the loose.

"I'm sorry, Skye. You should have never had to come face to face with your father. I promised to protect you from him and then I let Ward take you away from me right under my nose." Or maybe the wince was about the guilt trip he was riding hard on.

She shook her head. "This isn't your fault, Coulson. It was nothing but my own foolish actions that led me into the trap. If I'd listened to you, none of us would be in this mess."

"How about both of you stop your walks of shame? The only people to blame for this is your father, Raina, and Ward." May spat the names out with such venom and they both startled slightly to realize she was still standing off to the side, clearly in hearing range.

The director sighed. "May's right. It doesn't help anyone if we blame ourselves. The best thing we can do is make it right." He squeezed her shoulder. "We can start by warming you up some of my famous cheesy potato soup."

She raised her eyebrows. "It is homemade," he offered, his hand coming to rest on the middle of her back as he ushered her inside the plane.

"Why? Because if it wasn't it'd totally be a deal breaker?" Skye asked dryly.

Coulson made a face at her back. "Oh, absolutely." May rolled her eyes. "Once you have the good stuff you'll never settle for less ever again."

...

Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you to all those who read this, favorited, followed, and reviewed! It is greatly appreciated!


	3. Shifting Ground

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable plot, character, or setting.

Chapter 3

Once the food was heated up, Skye was seated at the island in the kitchen of the Bus as May flew them back to the Playground. Coulson surprisingly stayed with her, not crowding her space but not leaving her alone either. They ate side by side, silent as they contemplated the last forty-eight hours and all the change that it would surely bring.

When she finally pushed the bowl away, he didn't comment on the fact that only barely half of the contents was eaten, but he didn't need to. She saw the way his eyes darkened and his eyebrows pulled together slightly. Finished with his soup as well, he stood up from the table picking up both of their dishes and placing them in the sink. He turned to face her, his back coming to rest against the sink counter and his hands going into his pockets.

"Simmons said you could meet her in the lab after you finished eating or you could wait until we get back to the Playground for her to check you out," he said, after a moment of just watching her.

By the tone of his voice she could tell that either way she was going to get a checkup. There was no getting around it and she knew it was probably for the best. It was a mystery what had exactly happened to her down in that temple. If Simmons could even give them a glimpse of what was going on, it would be helpful. She hoped the checkup wouldn't take too long though. Skye wasn't sure how much longer she could keep everything to herself.

"I'll go there now and get it over with. When we get back can we talk?" She stood from the chair, her hands going to rub at her elbows, almost hugging herself.

"Of course, Skye. Are you sure you don't want to get some rest before we debrief you?" He gave her those worried blue eyes again and she wondered if he was ever going to stop looking at her like that.

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to sleep again," she said, matter-of-factly. "Every time I close my eyes I'm back in that temple watching Trip sacrifice himself for me and not being able to do a damn thing about it." She frowned. "I don't want to talk about what happened, but at the same time you need to know. What went down…it changes everything."

He came to stand in front of her. "We're going to figure this out, Skye. Whatever's going on with you, the team will have your back."

He was trying to reassure her, but his words only made her wince. "I'm not so sure about that. It's a hell of a curve ball." She didn't know exactly how to tell him that she was afraid; not of the team abandoning her, but of him abandoning her. She'd had so many people walk out on her, she wasn't sure she could handle losing him too.

"It's a good thing baseball is one of my favorite past times," he commented, and she couldn't stop the twitch of her lips.

"I'm serious, Coulson."

He raised his eyebrows. "So am I. I'm an excellent baseball player. Curve balls are a piece of cake for me."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going down to the lab now." Heading for the door of the kitchen, she sensed him following close behind her.

"I'll go with you." His words were nonchalant, but she knew he wanted to know the results of her checkup as much as she did.

When they got to the lab, Simmons was at one of the table examining some sample with gloves and goggles on. She noticed their arrival and set her tools aside, pulling off the gloves and goggles. She flashed the best smile she could.

"Come to get your checkup, Skye?" she asked, watching the way Skye shifted nervously and rubbed her arms, not answering until Coulson's hand touched her back.

"Yeah, we need to know what we're dealing with."

"Very well," Jemma said, "Take a seat right over here and I'll get started." She indicated a chair that was next to a machine and giant screen. When Skye sat down, the scientist began hooking her up. "I'm sure you've seen one of these before. It's going to monitor your vitals, establish a baseline and then alert us if anything is amiss. Just to be extra cautious, I'm going to take a couple samples of your blood and compare them to your old samples. I am afraid it'll be a little while until the results are finished."

Simmons busied herself getting the supplies ready to take Skye's blood while Coulson found another chair and made himself comfortable. He didn't say much of anything as he watched the scientist extract her blood and put it the vials. Jemma gave Skye a reassuring pat on the arm.

"Don't worry, Skye, I'm sure everything is fine. Just let me take care of this and I'll be back to check your vitals." She flashed both of them a hesitant, weak smile and disappeared into another section of the lab.

When she was gone, Skye frowned and rubbed at the spot on her arm where the needle went in. "I hate needles. No matter how many times I get poked, I never get used to it." Coulson didn't respond, but she figured he would not; from the look on his face his mind was far off.

Not for the first time she wondered why he was still here. She was positive he had way more important things to do than babysit her. They'd struck at the heart of Hydra; now was not the time to sit back and wait. They had to take out the remaining heads while the enemy was down. To do that, Coulson needed to be formulating a plan to destroy them, not sitting in here with her. Trip died and she couldn't stand it if it was for nothing. She wished so badly that she could trade places with him. He was a bigger asset than her and a better agent. If the team could have stood to lose anyone it should have been her.

"You should be off planning the best way to strike at Hydra, not sitting with me. I'm not important. The mission is what is important. If we don't take down Hydra once and for all than Trip died for nothing and I can't have that." She wouldn't look at him, couldn't look at him, but she could feel his gaze sharpen on her at her out-of-the-blue comment.

"Trip didn't die for nothing. He died for you and I wouldn't call that nothing. As for Hydra, don't worry, I'm going to hunt them down and make them pay for what happened. The time for retribution will come, but right now my place is here. May is heading up the search for Raina and I have Bobbi and Hunter putting out feelers for any word on your father or Ward. I think I might also have a plan on how to draw out the other heads of Hydra. I'm confident we'll get them."

"Trip should have never gone down after me and you should have just blown the place. The explosion would have buried Raina and the Obelisk under a ton of rock," Skye said, her voice bitter with regret.

"You would have been buried under that ton of rock too," Coulson said, his eyebrows furrowing as he leaned forward in the chair.

She shrugged. "So? It would have been worth it, if it meant none of it got out. I made a mistake by going down there and thinking I could be a hero. Don't you see? I wanted to be the one to save the day. I wanted to be able to say I stopped a huge catastrophe from happening. All I did was screw everything up though and I should have died for my mistake."

He shook his head. "This is not your fault."

"Yes it is! Things would be so much better without me. It's true, wherever I go death follows. I'm a monster!" As she raised her voice, the monitor began to beep shrilly. Coulson's attention was drawn to the screen where her blood pressure spiked higher than it should have been able to go. He stood from the chair.

"Skye, calm down," he said, going to her side, but not reaching for her. Everything began to quake as she got more worked up. "Skye!"

Her hands went to her hair and she shut her eyes. "I can't make it stop!" she shouted, and the light above their heads shattered, sending glass raining down on them. He wrapped his arms around her, shielding both of their eyes from the shards. His hands clutched tightly to her and he whispered soothing words into her hair. Finally, the shaking subsided and he pulled away.

"So, was that what you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked, after a second of silence. Her answer was to put her face in her hands and turn slightly away from him. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Skye, it's alright," he assured gently, but she wasn't having any of it.

She dropped her hands and looked at him with big, dark, watery eyes. "It's not alright. It's the farthest thing from alright. I caused that earthquake! The one that shattered Trip into a million pieces and hurt all those people! My father said I would change and I didn't want to believe him, but after the things I've done…"

"You didn't hurt anyone on purpose. You didn't have any control. May checked in with the authorities; no one was seriously injured or killed by the earthquake. And Trip…was already gone when the earthquake hit; you didn't hurt him."

Her hands clenched on her jeans. "That isn't the point! The fact is, I could have killed someone. I'm dangerous to be around. You should lock me up before I cause any more damage."

"I'm not going to lock you up, Skye." The hand on her shoulder moved so his arm was across her back, and she couldn't help but fall into his side and cling to him. It felt good to have someone touch her so willingly, without an ounce of fear or hesitation. It let her know that at least their relationship hadn't changed. "We'll get through this, Skye, I promise." She felt his chin come to rest on top of her head and she let her eyes flutter shut, comfortable with the sensation of being held in his arms.

A clearing of the throat from the doorway back to their left had them pulling away from each other. Coulson let go of her and adjusted his tie while Skye blushed and began fiddling with a slight rip in her pants, keeping her eyes focused on the little patch of skin she could see. Skye wasn't really embarrassed by their display of affection. It had been a long time since he'd dropped the director act and just been the A.C. she remembered.

Simmons glanced down at the glass shards that lay scattered around their feet, a slight frown pulling at her lips for a second before she covered it with a sympathetic smile. A tablet was held tightly in her hands. "Your blood is in the process of being analyzed as we speak. Now, how about we have a look at you?" she asked gently, choosing to ignore the mess for the moment.

Coulson threw her a grateful look over Skye's shoulder. The hacker sighed before giving her a reluctant nod. Simmons stepped up next to her, pulling out a tiny flashlight from her pocket and shining it in each of the other woman's eyes.

"How are you feeling, Skye? Experiencing any side effects from the temple? Headache? Nausea? Dizziness? Lightheadedness? Chills?" the scientist drilled off, putting away the flashlight when she seemed satisfied with her pupils.

Skye shrugged, glancing at the director out of the corner of her eye. He was watching the exchange in silence, but his worried gaze stayed glued to her. "All things considered, I'm feeling okay."

The scientist nodded. "Any injuries from the earthquake?"

She shook her head stiffly. "I don't think so. All of the debris missed me," she mumbled, looking down at her hands that were now folded neatly in her lap. She felt Coulson's hand on her back again, a gentle reminder that she wasn't alone in this.

Simmons frowned. "I saw the remains of that temple. It's a miracle you weren't crushed," the redhead said, her eyes tearing up as she stared at her friend. She suddenly looked like she wanted to throw her arms around her again, but Skye was thankful she held back.

She winced at the word, miracle. That isn't exactly the way she would describe it. It wasn't a miracle she'd survived. She had a feeling it was going to be a curse. A curse she was going to have to live with for the rest of her life.

The scientist checked her for internal bleeding or hemorrhaging, even though Skye said that the earthquake hadn't done any damage, before checking her blood pressure and breathing. Finally, it seemed her examination was over.

"All done," she announced, glancing between Skye and Coulson. "The only thing that slightly worries me is your blood pressure and heart rate. They are both entirely too high for my liking even for post a traumatic experience."

They both probably had a good idea as to what caused that, but neither offered up the information. Skye was extremely grateful that Coulson kept her new…abilities under wraps. At least until they could figure something out.

"I advise rest, lots and lots of rest. I'll let you know when your blood work comes back," Simmons said, giving her best friend one last sympathetic look before she left them alone.

Skye looked at Coulson. "Thanks…for not saying anything about my…episode," she said, the words sounding tired and raspy to her own ears.

He gave her a tiny smile from his position next to her. He offered her a hand which she took, hopping down off the exam table. Suddenly, she remembered the mess she'd made of the lamp and bent over to clean it up without thinking much about it. He didn't see what she was doing until it was too late.

"What are you…Skye!" Coulson said her name sharply, surprised and horrified equally. She jolted realizing too late that she'd picked up a shard of glass with her bare hand and reflexively tightened it at his alarmed shout.

"I was just trying to clean up the mess I made," she tried to explain lamely, feeling her cheeks heat up under his chastening gaze. He reached for her hand, turning it over and uncurling it with gentle fingers until the shard of glass fell back to the floor. Pulling it closer to his face so he could see the damage, a rush of air escaped his nose, making his nostrils flare. His blue eyes were focused on the jagged cut running the length of her palm, but she could almost feel his frustration at her momentary stupidity.

He turned away long enough to get the med kit, not letting go of the firm grip he had her wrist. She let him do his work silently, feeling ashamed of herself even as she hissed in pain when he ran the alcohol over it to clean the wound. He worked with quick, sure movements and before she knew it he was done, finishing the wrap around her cut to protect it.

Finally, he looked up at her, his eyes softening when he saw the pitiful look on her face. "What am I gonna do with you?" he said affectionately, pulling her against his side and brushing his lips feather-light over her forehead.

"I'm sorry that was stupid," she said, jutting her lip out in anger aimed at herself.

He chuckled, his shoulders loosening up a little. "It was very stupid. Now you know that picking up glass with your hands is a bad idea. I'll go get a broom so we can clean this up, properly." He winked at her as he pulled away, letting her know he was teasing her.

Coulson went to the lab's supply closet and grabbed a broom and a scooper to get up all of the glass. He handed her the scooper before he began sweeping up the shards from around the examination table. When he'd made a small pile, she stooped down with the scooper and he brushed the glass onto it. They continued until they were pretty sure all or most of the big pieces were swept up.

"I think we got it," he said approvingly, looking around to make sure. "We'll just have remind Fitz not to go parading down here barefoot anytime soon." She couldn't help but crack a small smile at that, knowing the engineer loved to tinker down here when he couldn't sleep. She took the broom from him and put it and the scooper back in the closet.

They stood there in silence for a moment, not knowing exactly where to go from there. Skye was starting to feel the exhaustion of being awake for the past thirty-eight plus hours and must have begun to sway on her feet, because suddenly Coulson's hand was gripping her right bicep. His blue eyes flashed worriedly at her.

"You should get some rest. We'll talk later," he suggested softly, but the underlining tone brooked no argument. She was going to lay down for a bit even if he had to tie her to the bed.

This time she didn't bother protesting, which only concerned him more as she gave a sluggish nod, letting him lead her out of the lab and up the spiral staircase toward the bunks. She didn't pay attention to her surroundings much after that, only that she slid the door open to her bunk, pushed her covers back and collapsed onto the mattress, not bothering to change clothes or clean up. Before she drifted off, she thought she felt the covers being pulled back up around her shoulders, but she couldn't be entirely sure.

…

Author's Note: Thank you so much to all those who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed! I love to hear everyone's feedback, it is always greatly appreciated. I hope that I'm doing all of these characters and plot lines justice. I'll do my best to update as soon as I possibly can, but I am starting another year at college soon so I'm expecting my schedule to get pretty hectic.


	4. Cracks in the Foundation

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable plot, character, or setting.

Chapter 4

Skye felt a little better after a shower and fresh clothes, but she still felt like a stranger in her own skin. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking and an invisible weight stayed in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. Wanting as much comfort as possible she'd dressed in one of her well-worn flannel button downs, ripped jeans, and her favorite boots. She might have felt like the farthest thing from herself, but at least she was dressed the part.

She took her time exiting the empty Bus, all but dragging her feet through the Playground's garage and finally further into the compound. She avoided people whenever she could, completely ignoring the curious or wary stares she received from some of the newer agents. She was more than a little thankful when she didn't run into anyone she knew. She didn't think she could handle dealing with Bobbi, Hunter, or Mack right now even though they meant well.

As she neared the director's office, familiar voices could be heard through the cracked door and she remembered Fitz' earlier words. May was in there with him, probably talking about some super-secret thing she and anyone else wasn't supposed to know about. Surprisingly this didn't bother her like it would have just months before. With a heavy sigh, she calmed her nerves and rapped gently on the wood.

The voices paused. "Come in." She heard Coulson say a couple seconds later.

He was seated on the corner of his desk, hands folded in his lap and May stood across from him, arms over her chest, when Skye came through the door. Judging from their facial expressions and postures, she didn't seem to have interrupted anything too intense. If anything they both looked surprisingly relaxed as if they'd been merely discussing the weather.

Coulson gave her a soft smile. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Well rested," she said, her tone only slightly accusing as her eyes traveled between the two senior agents.

He shrugged. "I apologize for leaving you for so long, but you needed the rest." He seemed anything but apologetic; he actually sort of sounded proud himself. May rolled her eyes. An awkward silence passed as they stared at each other.

"My blood results came back," Skye blurted out, needing to just say what she came to say. He'd been supportive so far, but she still didn't know how he was going to take this.

His back straightened and his eyebrows furrowed. "What's the news?"

"Fitz compared my recent blood sample to a previous one and they were completely…different. He said that not only do the samples look like they came from a different person. The new sample didn't even look human," she said around the growing lump in her throat, eyes shifting nervously between the other two agents.

Surprisingly, May was the one who spoke first. "Did Fitz recognize the foreign sample?"

Skye hadn't thought to ask, but from the devastated look on his face it had looked anything but familiar to him it seemed. "I don't think he'd seen anything like it before. He-he was pretty shaken up about it," she admitted, her gaze going to Coulson as he got off of his desk. "I gave him my broken watch to take a look at. I thought maybe he could learn more about my…about what happened and maybe fix it."

Coulson came to stand in front of her, his hand twitching like he was deciding on whether or not to reach for her. "Don't worry about the watch, I'll buy you another one," he said reassuringly, reading her facial expression carefully.

Her hands clenched and she shook her head. "No, I like the old one," she said, with a little more force than she'd meant to and glanced through her bangs to see his face. He didn't look the least bit put off by her tone, if anything there was almost an understanding tilt to his mouth.

May walked over to them. "We will figure all of this out, Skye." Her S.O. sounded more consoling than she'd thought her capable of and Skye had a hard time not blinking owlishly at her soft tone. It was very unsettling. Coulson tried not to smirk.

"May's right. These are uncharted waters, but we'll find a way through it, together. You are not alone in this, Skye. You'll never have to do it on your own again," the director promised his protégé. She felt like bursting into tears again, but the phone on his desk rang, interrupting their little moment. Coulson finally touched her arm briefly before going to pick up the line.

"Coulson," he answered, listening carefully to whoever spoke on the other end. His grip tightened on the receiver.

"Are you alright?" he asked after a moment, light concern leaking into his voice as his eyebrows furrowed. May stepped up beside him and Skye followed, her arms finding themselves wrapping around herself again.

"We'll deal with that later. Finish quickly and come home, Jemma." With that the line clicked and he put the phone back on the holder. He sighed deeply and rubbed at his forehead before he turned to the two women in the room. They were both staring at him worriedly.

"One of Jemma's scientists was attacked while they were down in the temple. Spikes were embedded in his back. He was dead by the time someone found him. Considering the only two people down there were Skye and Raina, she thinks Raina is responsible for the murder. We don't have any kind of real proof, but I'm inclined to believe it was her too. That and I don't want to consider the prospect yet of something else being down there," he explained grimly, his blue gaze mostly on May.

Skye covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes fluttering shut. Coulson frowned, noticing her obvious distress and wishing he could do something to make it better. May's lips thinned. "We'll have to double our efforts in finding her before she decides to add to her killing list. If she's not satisfied with her…transformation, who knows what she'll be capable of doing."

The youngest agent stiffened and her eyes shot open. "She'll blame my father for what happened to her if things didn't go according to her plan. She wanted to be beautiful and if her new face doesn't meet her standards…" She trailed off in horror, not that she was necessarily worried about her father, more of what a pissed off Raina would do if she didn't get her way.

Coulson nodded. "At least we'll kill two birds with one stone by catching them both," he said, trying to look on the bright side of things. Something seemed to occur to May, who glanced at her former student and then at the director.

Her gaze was sharp. "Zabo might not be only person she blames," she pointed out knowingly, making eye contact with her partner. "She was never very fond of Skye and if she were to ever think Skye got the better deal…"

His eyes widened. "You could become a target too." He aimed the realization at the younger agent who only just seemed to understand what they were saying. For some reason the idea of a crazy and super powered Raina did not instill as much foreboding as it probably should have.

"We're just speculating," she reminded. "We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," she said firmly, silently pushing for them to drop their worrying over her. There were a lot more things on the line than just her life. Coulson pursed his lips, looking like he wanted to do anything other than drop it, but a look from his partner had him letting it go.

May decided a change in subject was in order when it seemed they had reached an impasse about what to think about Raina. Skye had a point, it didn't help to speculate if it didn't get them any closer to a solution. Knowing she was after Cal did no good because no one knew where he'd disappeared to either. The only thing that they could agree on was that Raina needed to be stopped as soon as possible.

Skye's gaze darkened. "Besides, I wouldn't mind seeing her again. We have some unfinished business that I'd like to take care of," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. Coulson barely stopped himself from glancing sharply at her. He'd never heard her sound so cold before, not even when she talked about Ward. He knew it sprouted from a deep-seeded rage of being forced to watch a close friend die right in front of her. It made him hope that much more that she would never have to see Raina ever again.

"Vengeance is the weakest form of grief. It might make you feel better in the moment, but it does not solve anything. Killing Raina won't bring Trip back," May said calmly, knowing exactly how the girl was feeling. She had been swallowed up by vengeance enough times to know that it did nothing but mess with her. It had all but tore her to pieces. She did not want Skye to fall into that same pit.

Coulson watched as the words hit a nerve in the younger agent. "I don't blame her for what happened to Trip. That's on me. I want to show her the consequences of messing with someone's life. None of us would even be in this position if not for her manipulation. She needs to understand all the damage she's caused. I don't want revenge. I want justice." May watched her closely for a second, not quite ready to believe her yet, but gave her a nod anyway. Neither of the older agents liked her blaming herself. They were just going to have say it until she believed that it wasn't her fault.

"We will get justice for everything," Coulson insisted firmly, his tone determined. He was going to catch Raina if it was the last thing he did. He would get her if it meant Skye found even the tiniest bit of peace for it. "And we're going to start with Sunil Bakshi."

May perked up. "What's the plan?"

He let a small smirk grace his face. "Something I'm sure you will appreciate. Talbot agreed to give us assistance with the remaining Hydra forces if we handed over Bakshi and all our leads on the other leaders."

His partner quirked an eyebrow. "And how does giving him everything help us?"

He was way too into this for her liking. "It wouldn't, but I don't plan on handing him over. In fact, we're going to let Bakshi escape."

Skye glanced between him and May. "I'm not seeing how this is a good plan."

Coulson and May were staring at each other, having some sort of silent conversation. Just when she was beginning to think they were ignoring her input, May spoke. "If Bakshi thinks he got away, he'll go crawling back to the other heads of Hydra and lead us right to them," she guessed, and watched as her partner beamed at her for getting it right. "It's a good plan. Extremely risky, but good. We'll pretty much need all hands on deck if we plan on pulling it off though."

He nodded. "And that means convincing our newest team members to tag along."

"What about me? I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to be out in the field right now," Skye interrupted, shifting uncomfortably as their gazes turned back to her.

Coulson's face softened when he saw how agitated the idea of going back into the field made her. He more than understood her hesitation and honestly shared some of her concerns. May would have probably suggested it herself if Skye hadn't beat her to it. He glanced at his partner who nodded in agreement.

"We trust your judgment, Skye. I think it would be good for you to take some time. Get adjusted to…everything. Our main concern is your safety and everyone else's," he said, glad she had brought up taking a break from the field without him having to order her to take a step back.

She seemed relieved, but like something was still bothering her. She bit her lip. "I'm going to get this under control," she insisted, after a second of hesitancy. "I want to get back into the field as soon as possible, pull my weight."

"I know you will and we're going to do everything we can to help you. I know we're a little shorthanded right now, but we can manage without you in the field until you're completely ready. I want you to take your time with this, Skye," he said.

Her shoulders loosened slightly at his words and she gave him a slow nod. He shared another silent look with May and then they were back to other pressing business. It was comforting to her, how confident they were that everything was going to be alright. And she thought that she was the one never fazed by things. Coulson and May were unmovable rocks it seemed when it came to loyalty. They matched each other's stubbornness at every turn. She was sure that made for some interesting disagreements between the two partners.

"I'll round everyone up for a meeting in 5," May said, arms folding behind her back as she nodded at both of them and turned to leave the office.

"Send them to the lounge," he said to her back, not waiting for her response, already making his way back to his desk. He gathered the needed files, shuffling them into a semi order before folding them underneath his arm. He glanced at Skye, with a thin smirk. "Here's to hoping we get at least a few takers." He let her lead him out of the office and down the stairs to the lounge.

…

It wasn't long before the team members began filing into the lounge with May bringing up the rear behind a bickering Hunter and Bobbi. They took their respective positions in a semi-circle with Coulson at the head, flanked on either side by May and Skye. Mack stood between Bobbi and Fitz, looking better since the last time Skye saw him. She didn't quite like the way he was looking at her though.

Coulson got right to explaining the quickly conceived plan May and him had come up with, watching each member with trepidation as it sunk in. As Skye would have guessed, they had some objections. Hunter, of course, was complaining the loudest and Mack was now scowling deeply at the director. Bobbi looked like she was actually contemplating the plan.

The team leader finally drew attention to the mechanic's hard stare. "You have something on your mind, Agent Mackenzie?" he asked calmly.

The bigger man's back stiffened. "I was just wondering how many more agents you were going to put needlessly in danger for your cause…"

" _My_ cause?" Coulson echoed, shocked and faintly affronted by the other man's tone. He'd expected some push back, but not this much anger.

Mack's eyes flashed. "Yeah, this alien fascination that has peeked your interest these past few months. You had us searching for an ancient alien city to appease your need to carve symbols into the wall. Excuse me if that freaks me out," he bit out, his voice dripping with barely concealed disgust.

"I'm sorry, I thought we all shared the common goal of trying to stop Hydra. Who, let me remind you, was also searching for the city. If you're alright with letting them unleash some mysterious evil upon the world, I guess that's on you," Coulson fired back saucily, his eyebrows almost reaching his hairline.

His words only seemed to piss the other man off. He seemed to only barely be holding himself in check. Bobbi took a concealed step closer to her friend in case things got too intense, while Fitz just stared worriedly at him. May was glaring daggers at the guy almost three times her size. Skye was torn between offence on Coulson's behalf and her own warring guilt for her part in it all. Hunter seemed to be the only one enjoying this little dispute.

"All of this is on _you_ ," Mack countered, jerking out of Bobbi's grip on his arm. "We wouldn't have been in this mess if it hadn't been for your damn obsession! Trip is dead and who the hell knows what happened to Skye! You want us to believe that this is about Hydra, but it isn't. This is about tempering your own curiosity."

"What are you trying to say, Mack?" Coulson pressed, a deep frown marring his face now. He honestly had no idea that one of his team members felt this way, not liking how much it actually bothered him.

Mack came forward and both Bobbi and May closed in to intercept him. "I'm saying you're not fit to be director, _sir_ , and I'm done taking orders from you. I had my suspicions when Hunter told me you went down after Skye. You let your emotions compromise your position as a leader and it cost Trip his life."

Coulson looked downright upset for the first time. "Are you suggesting I should have left Skye down there to die?" His voice raising in pitch with his anger.

"That-that's not what…he's saying," Fitz tried to jump in for Mack, but his comment was relatively ignored.

"She should have never gone down there in the first place, but she was trying to impress you!" Mack thundered, and Skye reared back like she'd been slapped.

Bobbi broke in sternly. "Mack," she clipped, eyes trying to meet his and silently plead for him to quit making a scene before he ruined everything.

Coulson's eyes were an icy, piercing blue and his face was pinched. May's own expression was murderous. "You're out of line," she hissed, and Hunter couldn't stop the scoff. Bobbi shot her ex a look too, telling him to shut his mouth.

"Now's not the time…" Hunter began, but was cut off by Bobbi.

"Shut up, Hunter." He scowled at her and folded his arms, but didn't finish his thought. Mack and Coulson continued their staring contest and shouting match, while May rose to her partner's defense every few seconds. Fitz broke in to defend Mack's position and Bobbi tried futilely to pull her friend away before it rose to physical violence.

Skye looked like she was about to break down, but no one seemed to notice her distress. Her eyes kept shifting between the two arguing men, not liking their raised voices and harsh glares. She wished they would stop. Hands went to her head and her eyes shuttered closed. The floor began to rumble but no one paid attention to it.

Her eyes shot open at the sound of Bobbi raising her voice above the rest. "Mack don't!"

The next few seconds happened too fast. Mack charged the director. Bobbi reached out to stop him. May rushed to intercept. Skye didn't remember making the decision to move or the fact that she'd somehow beat her S.O. to the punch. Her hands raised, an invisible barrier between the threat and Coulson. She didn't even touch anyone, but she felt her skin grow hot and prickly and a rush of something unknown whipping out of her body. It was like an unearthly buzz radiating off of her as the rippled effect sent Mack careening backward. Bobbi and Hunter had barely enough time to react, just managing to cushion his fall before his head could crack against the concrete floor.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as the mechanic collapsed and his friends crouched by his body. Skye was completely shell-shocked, eyes shifting anxiously over the fallen team member and the others who were staring at her. She couldn't get over the way Fitz was looking at her though, split between horror and surprise. He finally went to his friend's aid, bending over to check him for injuries. Hunter was glaring daggers at her, while Bobbi was too busy making sure Mack was okay to spare her a glance.

Feeling too overwhelmed with everything and thinking she was going to hurt someone else, she turned to bolt. She carefully avoided eye contact with either of her mentors, brushing past their stiffened forms. It seemed to take them a second to comprehend what had just took place. They made no move to physically stop her.

"Skye!" Coulson called out, but she was already rushing out of the lounge and down the hallway, not quite sure where she was headed, but unable to stay there any longer. She found herself heading for the comforting familiarity of the Bus, praying she wouldn't be followed. She didn't stop until she was safely inside the honey-comb-kill room, thinking it pretty fitting for her circumstances. She locked the door before finally giving in to her raging emotions, sliding down the wall and pulling her knees up to her chest. She buried her face in her knees and cried.

...

Author's Note: Forgive my delay in updating! Thank you for reading and I appreciate everyone's patience! P.S. The Skye/Coulson relationship is purely platonic for those who were wondering. I think of them more as father/daughter and close friends than anything else.


	5. Hell Hath No Fury

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable character, plot, and setting. I can however claim Sebastian Aldarondo as my own.

Chapter 5

Grant Ward hated getting shot. Only two of the four bullets made it through, but even the two that were stopped left a road map of black and blue bruising smattered along his side and lower abdomen. If that wasn't enough he had new wounds that would no doubt scar magnificently. Everything hurt, from breathing to moving his pinky finger. It had been barely four days and he was already unbelievably restless cooped up in this tiny house. He'd never been more appreciative for his own ingenuity and the fact that SHIELD had never found his many hidden aliases and stashed cash for emergencies such as this one.

After being dragged away from the abandoned building, he'd just been coherent enough to give Kara a contact in Puerto Rico who owed him and would provide a temporary safe haven until he could be moved.

A knock on the door stirred him from his thoughts. He tried to wipe the scowl off his face as his contact came into the room. Sebastian Aldarondo was a lean, Puerto Rican man, a little above average height, in his mid-thirties. He had keen dark, inquisitive eyes and a thick mane of wavy black hair. He was clever and cunning, and had his hands in most everyone's pocket who was important. Ward liked having friends in powerful places. Aldarondo was one of the few he trusted explicitly. The man was loyal to no single organization, but kept a sense of honor and diplomacy that Ward could appreciate.

The other man held up a clean set of bandages. "Your bandages need to be changed and your IV switched out. I know Kara usually does it, but she's out getting food for the week." Sebastian's lips quirked. "You know how she is, trying to take care of you. She insists on making sure you have only the best food during your recovery." He waggled his eyebrows at Ward, who was reclined on the bed, with pillows supporting his back and an IV in his left arm.

Ward motioned for him to come over, ignoring his inference completely. He really didn't have time to analyze Kara's weird obsession with his recovery. If anything, her constant attention and hovering was really starting to grate on his nerves. Sebastian just seemed to think the whole thing was hilarious.

"Seriously, your history with women is lacking, hermano."

He still had enough energy to glare. "What the hell do you know about it, Alda?" He tried to shift upward on the mattress and hissed through clenched teeth at the stab of pain the movement brought.

"I know the woman you loved is responsible for those bullet holes. You must have done something muy mal for a rejection like that," Sebastian said, with a shake of his head as he neared the bed.

"Well, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Ward admitted sourly.

"I don't know if you should find it endearing or weird that Kara is so pissed on your behalf for that SHIELD girl trying to kill you," Sebastian said as he put all the supplies on the bed next to Ward and helped him get into a better position.

"I see Kara has been running her mouth," Ward grumbled, annoyance flicking across his face. He wished sometimes that she wasn't so vocal, some things were private and his love life or lack thereof, and SHIELD was off limits.

Sebastian rolled a shoulder. "She's protective of you and fumes quite often about the people she believes have mistreated you, and that includes your SHIELD girlfriend."

A muscle in his jaw ticked as the other man began taking off the old bandage, actually sort of glad for the distraction in the form of conversation, even if this was absolutely the last thing he wanted to talk about. "Kara feels indebted to me. She might have saved my life, but without my guidance she would be absolutely lost, with no sense of purpose. She wouldn't have survived long on her own that way. Whitehall made her too dependent on someone else's orders."

"Whatever you say, hermano." Sebastian knew better than to push too hard. He didn't want to piss off Ward and it seemed talking about this was one way to accomplish that so he let it go. He cleaned up the area around the wound and quickly applied a new bandage, knowing he had overstayed his welcome in the room. Ward preferred solitude most days, making it clear to both him and Kara that they were leave him alone. He put the ointment for the bruises on the table next to the bed for Ward to use when he wanted, and swiftly switched out the IV bag.

The former Hydra agent repositioned further down into the mattress again. Sebastian hovered in the doorway for a moment. "Kara will have lunch ready in a few hours. I'll be back later to give you another dose of morphine. You are probably looking at three weeks before you can get up and walk around," he informed him, before he left, shutting the door behind him.

Ward gave a tired huff and reached for the TV remote, sick of all the lying around, yet not really looking forward to the pain that getting up would bring later. He knew that if he wanted back in top shape as quickly as possible though, he would have to work hard at it. He settled on an old black and white movie that he knew Skye would have enjoyed and kept his thoughts meditating on her beautiful face, trying not to think about their last fateful meeting.

* * *

It had only been a few hours and someone was rapping gently on the door of Skye's makeshift sanctuary. She honestly didn't think that they would leave her alone for that long, but she recognized that they had been giving her much needed space.

She'd latched the door so no one was getting inside without her say so. It was probably Coulson checking up on her and he would understand if she left him out there. She felt like a ticking time bomb and the slightest shift could set her off. She didn't want company. She wanted to be left alone to simmer in her own thoughts. She'd done the very thing she had been most afraid of, she hurt one of her team mates. All because she couldn't get a handle on her emotions. Logically, she knew that Mack would not have probably hurt Coulson or at least May would have stepped in before things got bad. It was hard to convince her brain of that though in the heat of the moment. She'd sensed a threat to someone she cared for deeply and reacted subconsciously. There had been no evil intent on her part. She'd been trying to protect a friend and nothing more.

"Skye," May said, her voice surprisingly soft through the door.

The hacker startled slightly, positive it would have been Coulson. "What do you want, May?" She tried her best to hide the tears in her voice, but knew the older woman would hear them anyway.

"You didn't hurt Mack," she offered after a second of silence. "He is perfectly alright, just knocked unconscious. No one is angry with you, Skye." The young agent refused to respond to her reassurances, knowing this information didn't change anything. She'd still basically attacked a team member. She could have killed him.

"It doesn't matter. I saw the way they were looking at me. I _could have_ seriously hurt him or killed him and they knew that. I knew it. I could feel it, like molten lava in my veins, pushing to lash out. For a millisecond, I wanted to hurt Mack for trying to hurt Coulson, even when I knew you would never let any harm come to him," Skye insisted, knowing she sounded like she was about to break down again.

"You defended someone you care about from a perceived threat, there is nothing wrong with that. Any one of them would have done the same thing in your shoes. They are not angry with you for your actions, Skye. They understand why you did it and do not blame you. They're afraid of the unknown, of what they cannot understand yet," May said calmly, with much more surety than Skye would have thought. Who knew May could be so comforting?

"They should be afraid. I'm a monster," Skye stated numbly, pulling her knees closer to her chest and wrapping her arms tighter around them. She tried her best to stop her shaking limbs and shallow breathing.

"Skye," May breathed. "You are not a monster. Do you hear me? You are not a monster. They are not afraid of you, I promise you."

She choked back a sob, her fist going to her mouth. She wanted to believe her so bad, but in the wake of everything it seemed impossible. She could do something entirely unnatural that had the power to hurt people, kill them with barely a flick of her wrist or a fluctuating emotion. In her book that made her pretty monstrous. May couldn't promise something like that. She had no idea how they truly felt about her.

"Skye?" May questioned, concern etched into her voice. "Answer me, Skye." The door handle moved and the older woman realized that Skye had locked herself inside.

"Can you unlock the door?" she asked, trying to be as gentle as possible, not wanting to spook her when she was already upset.

"No, it's better for everyone if I stay in here and you all stay out." She was still wound up about what happened and the last thing she wanted was to unhinge again and hurt May. They might not realize it yet, but she really was trying to protect them from herself.

"You can't stay in there forever," May pointed out. "Hiding away and hoping the problem will just disappear isn't going to fix everything." She hated being so blunt, but she didn't know how else to get through to her. It was paramount that she not try to do this all on her own. May knew better than anyone that somethings couldn't be faced alone.

"I am _not_ hiding away," Skye argued crossly. "I'm trying to protect you." She had some nerve.

May sighed. "From my position it sure looks like hiding to me." She crossed her arms and waited the few seconds it took for Skye to throw the door open and glare at her.

"How dare you…" Skye said through clenched teeth, her eyes alight with fire despite the tear stains, before she suddenly broke off at the look on May's face. She realized a little too late what her S.O. had up her sleeve and didn't have time to process it before the other woman pushed passed her and into the room.

"May, don't," she said, but the woman was not listening to her in the slightest.

The older agent merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Please, leave." She tried again, but knew she sounded more desperate than angry. She could feel herself start to shake again.

"I am not going anywhere, Skye," she insisted firmly, her jaw tightening at her words.

The hacker growled and threw up her hands. "I don't want you here!" Now, she knew that she was being cruel, but she was willing to do anything to keep her safe.

May rolled a shoulder. "I don't care. I am not leaving you alone." They were like two unmovable forces, neither willing to give an inch.

She could feel the beginning of angry tears forming at the back of her eyes. She hated how much crying she'd been doing lately. She hated all of this. She didn't want anyone to see her fall apart, especially her S.O. She'd already fallen apart in her director's arms and she thought it couldn't possibly get any more pathetic than that. She had to get away before she did something else stupid like collapsing into her arms too.

Skye moved to the far side of the room, turning her back to the other woman. Her S.O. only followed, refusing to let her get away that easily. Her breaths starting coming in short bursts and she propped her hands against the wall. She couldn't hold it in and it was destroying her. She felt the world tilt and hands at her arms, grounding her. "Skye, you need to breathe," May ordered, not liking the shade her student's face was turning.

"Listen to me. You need to match your breathing with mine," She commanded, worry making her tone harsher than she intended. "If you don't calm down, you are going to make yourself pass out."

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Skye sucked in air and felt her body go slack. May was the only thing keeping her on her feet. "That's it," the older woman encouraged. "Breathe slowly and deeply. Match me."

The hacker's eyes fluttered shut when it became apparent that she wasn't going to tear the room to shreds. It made her body weak with relief. She had no idea what she would have done if she had hurt May. She felt her S.O.'s hands squeeze her arms. Before she could analyze it or change her mind, she turned and through her arms around the other woman. May stiffened in mild surprise before hesitantly returning the embrace, not remembering the last time someone had hugged her.

"We're not going to let you do this alone, Skye," she reiterated, willing to say it until the girl got it through her thick head that they weren't going to abandon her.

They slowly pulled away from each other. She seemed to have calmed down considerably, even managed a wobbly smile. "I'm starting to get that," she answered softly, emotions choking her up.

May let a small smirk grace her lips. "I thought you would want to know that Coulson's trap went down without a hitch. Bakshi is leading us right to Hydra. We have Bobbi and Hunter keeping tabs on him until contact with the heads has been confirmed."

Skye shook her head. "When are they going to learn that Coulson is a genius? I mean an idiotic genius sometimes, but a genius nonetheless. They can say a lot of things about him, but they can't doubt his knack for strategy. He knows how to make a plan. With you to carry out his genius plans, I don't see how you guys wouldn't be unstoppable."

"That's what I keep trying to tell our new team members, but they have yet to take me seriously," Coulson said from the open doorway and both women turned to see him. Skye bit her lip, suddenly shy and May rolled her eyes. His voice was light and teasing, but he didn't bother to hide the concern in his eyes.

It seemed even when he was letting May handle a situation, he couldn't manage to stay away. He'd heard Skye in distress and had wanted to go to her immediately, even knowing his partner had it under control. He hated seeing her so upset, it broke his heart. She was such a strong, brave young woman, truly a light in the darkness that he never wanted to see extinguished. He shared a look with May, who silently let him know that things were okay for the moment.

"You feel up to having dinner with us?" Coulson asked his protégé carefully, gaging her shifting mental state. When it seemed she was going to decline he elaborated quickly. "It'll just be the three of us."

She knew what he was really asking. He wanted her to leave her self-imposed cage without actually asking her directly. It would no doubt ease both of her superiors' minds to go with them. She could feel May's gaze on her and she didn't want to disappoint.

"I could eat," she admitted after a moment, even though the last thing on her mind was food and her stomach even jolted at the thought. Coulson brightened at her words and she was glad to ease his mind even a little.

"I make a mean turkey club sandwich that is actually very healthy and equally filling. It has the perfect amount of protein and greens and a secret sauce," he said, as he led the two out of the honey-comb room. Skye couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at her mouth. She loved his enthusiasm for cooking even if he was probably laying it on extra thick for her.

"Secret sauce?" she questioned, surprisingly willing to play along.

He turned his face sideways to look at her. "Don't ask. I will not disclose." His eyes were shining warmly and she fought the urge to throw her arms around him again. Sometimes his open tenderness was too much for her. He was taking care of her, even with the smallest of things. She knew he'd watch her like a hawk to make sure she ate at least half of that sandwich. As they made their way to the kitchen, she thought she saw May smirking at her partner's back.

…

After dinner, Coulson and May had a moment alone once again, standing on the other side of the cracked door to Skye's dorm. The young woman was fast asleep on her bed, practically knocked out after the long day. They couldn't help but linger just a little bit longer by her door, making sure that her slumber was peaceful.

Coulson could see the cogs turning in his partner's head. "What are you thinking?" he asked softly, glancing away from the door to her face.

"I'm thinking she needs more help than either of us can provide…" May admitted solemnly after a second of hesitation.

He looked startled by her words. "May, what are you trying to say?"

She frowned. "We are so far out of our depth here, Phil." She sounded so pained by the revelation. "I want to help her more than anything, but I don't know how."

He reached out a hand, touching her elbow. "We're going to figure this out. Just like we've been telling Skye. The best thing we can do for her right now is not let her be alone."

May shook her head. "That isn't enough anymore. She needs more than just a hug or reassuring words. She needs a solution, a way to control her powers." She wanted to fix this so bad, they both wanted to right everything for their girl. They just had no idea how yet.

He frowned too and gripped her arm tighter. "I know."

She was suddenly struck by a thought that had yet to occur to her previously. It was a last resort to say the least, but at this point she was almost willing to do anything. "I have an idea," she said. He arched an eyebrow at her and let her continue. "I could contact Andrew." His hand dropped from her arm.

Both of his eyebrows almost reached his hairline. "You really think that's a good idea?"

She scoffed. "Of course it's not a good idea, but if he can help Skye…I have to try." If Coulson doubted how she felt about the kid before, they were all erased with that one sentence. Skye had no idea how much of an impact she had on the both of them.

"You still know how to get in touch with him?" he asked.

Her lips pinched together. "I have an old contact he left…in case I changed my mind." She left it at that and he didn't push further, knowing it was an extremely sore subject even after almost seven years.

He nodded, glancing back through the door again at the young woman he'd come to care for very much. It was late, but he didn't want to stray too far in case she needed him. May must have sensed the direction of his thoughts. "Go, I'll stay a little while to make sure she's okay."

Coulson sighed and took one last look at both women before making his way down the hallway and up the stairs to his private bunk.

* * *

Raina was fuming. She had searched relentlessly for him, hell-bent on getting answers no matter how long it took. He'd promised her that she'd be beautiful, an Inhuman goddess. He never mentioned that the diviner would turn her into this _thing_. She was going to make him fix this, she couldn't live like this. She was supposed to be breathtaking, not monstrous.

By the end of the fifth day of her search, she finally made contact with him. He'd agreed to meet with her at an abandoned warehouse in St. Louis. He had been wary of seeing her, but with a little coaxing using her honeyed voice, he'd reluctantly set up the meet. She was positive that he had no idea the fire she was going to rain down on him for screwing her over.

She paced around the shipping yard for almost two hours before he decided to grace her with his presence. She kept her face hidden as he approached. "What do you want, Raina?" He sounded impatient and like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"I want to know what the hell you did to me," she hissed, skulking toward him.

"I helped you find your true destiny, what you decide to do now is up to you." He spoke to her as if she were an ignorant child.

Her hands balled up into fists. "Am I to spend an eternity as _this_?" She whipped her hood off to reveal her new features. "Your diviner turned me into a monster! I was supposed to be beautiful, breathtaking like your daughter!"

He perked up at the mention of his daughter. "How is she? Did she take her transformation well? Last time I saw her, she was pretty…upset. I hope those _people_ are treating her decent."

"Her face is just as unblemished as before," she admitted, fuming with jealousy.

Cal's face lit up. "I wonder what power she unlocked. I'm sure it's something as brilliant and perfect as she is." His giddiness was making her sick to her stomach.

"I don't understand how I was cursed and she was blessed! It should have been me, she didn't even want anything to do with it. It was my destiny to become extraordinary, not her!" She spat, glaring harshly, ideas swimming in her head on how to make it right.

His expression hardened at her words. "Watch your tongue, Raina. The diviner does not make people extraordinary, it only reveals what is hidden underneath."

She advanced on him quickly. "Look at me, I am hideous! Are you saying I somehow deserved this? And what? Your daughter is perfect so she gets the best? How the hell is that fair?!" He straightened his back when she dared to get in his face.

The temperature around them dropped, but she refused to back down. "Life isn't fair. Get over it. Your predicament is no concern of mine, nor do I really care. I helped you find your fate and now you have to live with it. Do not speak about my daughter again. You are no friend or ally to either of us so do not presume to be. We were two people with aligned goals, and now that we've reached them, I owe you nothing."

She softened under the weight of his anger, tears springing to her eyes. "You're just going to leave me alone? I have nowhere to go…I don't know what to do," she pleaded, blinking her eyes and bobbling her jaw.

He remained stoic in the face of her desperation. "That is not my problem. Go on a killing spree, turn over a new leaf or walk off a bridge. I don't care what you do as long as you stay out of my way and keep away from my daughter. See this as me being merciful, the next time we cross paths it won't be on friendly terms."

Her nostrils flared as she silently fumed. She couldn't believe that after everything she'd done for him that he was just going to leave her on her own. He was such a smug bastard about it too and she wanted to impale that big head of his right then and there. "This isn't over," she hissed out between clenched teeth instead before turning and stalking away from him.

...

Author's Note: Please forgive this very late update, I know that it's been months since I last posted. It may take me a while, but I haven't given up on this story. Reviews, favorites, and follows are very much appreciated. Thank you for everyone's support.


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